Air gap (networking)

This represents a security vulnerability, so air-gapped computers have their wireless interface controller either permanently disabled or physically removed.

The upside to this is that such a network can generally be regarded as a closed system (in terms of information, signals, and emissions security), unable to be accessed from the outside world.

Sophisticated computer viruses for use in cyberwarfare, such as Stuxnet[6] and Agent.BTZ have been designed to infect air-gapped systems by exploiting security holes related to the handling of removable media.

[citation needed] Shortly after that, network security researcher Dragos Ruiu's BadBIOS received press attention.

[14] In 2014, researchers introduced AirHopper, a bifurcated attack pattern showing the feasibility of data exfiltration from an isolated computer to a nearby mobile phone, using FM frequency signals.

[17][18] ProjectSauron malware discovered in 2016 demonstrates how an infected USB device can be used to remotely leak data off of an air-gapped computer.

Although NFC enables devices to establish effective communication by bringing them within a few centimeters of each other,[20] researchers showed that it can be abused to transmit information at a much longer range than expected - up to 100 meters.

[22] These hardware combinations use a number of different media to bridge the air-gap, including: acoustic, light, seismic, magnetic, thermal, and radio-frequency.

The problem is not completely eliminated though, especially if users have administrative privileges on their local workstations and are therefore able to install software which is not centrally managed.